Sbarro restaurant massacre
The Sbarro restaurant massacre
The Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing was a catastrophic Arab Palestinian Islamic terrorist attack massacre carried out by Hamas on August 9, 2001, at a crowded pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem.
Children were targeted.
The blast killed 16 civilians—including eight children and a pregnant woman—and injured approximately 130 others. It stands as one of the deadliest and most infamous atrocities of the Second Intifada.
Arab Islamic "palestine" terrorist Ahlam Tamimi, then 20 years old, disguised herself and Izz al-Din Shuheil al-Masri, the suicide bomber, as Jewish tourists. She chose the target for al-Masri and left the area before the bomb detonated and went to report on the bombing on a Palestinian news channel where she was a part-time journalist. Ahlam Tamimi who helped choose the target, scouting the location to decide when the crowd would be largest, the death count highest, and then dropped off the bomber. She later smiled as she recalled celebrating as the death toll rose from 3 to over a dozen people. With a bomb backed with metals, nails to cause maxinum danage, the butcher carefully approached the spot where most of the children were at...
The Attack Target
The Sbarro pizzeria at the highly trafficked intersection of King George Street and Jaffa Road in Jerusalem.
Method
Suicide Arab Islamic bomber Izz al-Din Shuheil al-Masri, disused as a Jew, entered the crowded restaurant during the lunchtime rush, carrying a 5 to 10 kg bomb packed with nails, nuts, and bolts inside a guitar case to maximize casualties.
The butcher approached slowly meticulously moved toward the densest crowd of children before detonating upon them.
Perpetrators
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad initially claimed responsibility. The attack was orchestrated by a Hamas terror cell, with bomb-maker Abdallah Barghouti constructing the explosives, and Ahlam Tamimi scouting the location and escorting the bomber.
Victims and Casualties
The explosion completely gutted the restaurant and decimated entire families.
Total Deaths: 15 people died instantly or shortly after the attack. A 16th victim, Chana Nachenberg, passed away in June 2023 after spending 22 years in a permanent vegetative coma caused by her injuries. The Schijveschuurder Family: Five members of a single Dutch-Israeli family were killed together: parents Mordechai and Tzira, and three of their children aged 14, 4, and 2.Malki Roth: A 15-year-old American-Israeli girl, whose family subsequently launched the Keren Malki foundation to support children with disabilities in her honor.
Aftermath and the Fight for JusticeThe legal and political ramifications of the bombing remain a deeply painful, unresolved issue in international relations:
The Mastermind
Ahlam Tamimi was sentenced by an Israeli court to 16 consecutive life terms in 2003. However, she was released to Jordan in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, where she became a media celebrity and expressed absolute lack of remorse.
Extradition Battle
Because three American citizens were killed, Tamimi was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list. Despite a standing extradition treaty, the Jordanian government has repeatedly blocked attempts to hand her over to face trial in the United States.
The Bomb Maker
Abdallah Barghouti was sentenced by Israel to 67 life sentences in 2004 for his role in Sbarro and multiple other attacks.
Sickening gloating
As is so often in the twisted Palestinianism culture of gloating at pain. The "moderate" Palestinian Authority recreated the scene on its anniversary. As a warped joyous celebration.
Sources & Further reading
- Some 25 years after the Sbarro bombing, one family is fighting to bring Ahlam Tamimi to justice. JPost (8/7/26).
- 25 years ago today, the Sbarro bombing opened a wound in Israel that still hasn’t healed. TOI (8/9/26)
- Israel War Room @IsraelWarRoom: On this day in 2001, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at Sbarro's in Jerusalem during peak lunch hour, killing 15, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and injuring 130... [1]
- [0=AZZObstF_7zsWIpTfYSEYkwK_QRtyBv7JwaoQiNJd3C84x9WurMOfGH-NQHP_suaUjg5zgwZAJwdsI55Boeljhd-qqBOZDuGhNFTreeNAur-brJMzGSJkQ7Fid1-GyIAmdjKAZI0wIsdX4BMyvYIpawwOAdXxzABckBz815bGEi67_FMxJv4QiSNjzUdNGBeaSU&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R 25] years ago today, a man dressed to blend in walked into a Sbarro pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem carrying a guitar case packed with explosives and flesh-shredding nails. Fifteen people, including seven children, were murdered that day. Chana Nachenberg, there with her toddler, remained in a coma for 22 years before dying from her injuries, becoming the 16th victim. Ahlam Tamimi helped choose the target, scouting the location to decide when the crowd would be largest, the death count highest, and then dropped off the bomber. She later smiled as she recalled celebrating as the death toll rose from 3 to over a dozen people. This was not “resistance.” It was the deliberate mass murder of Jewish children, teens, adults. HonestReporting (8/9/26).
- PMW Celebration and payments by Palestinian Authority.
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